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MUTINY!

Posted by:	BroadwayMagic 09:07 am EDT 08/08/14
In reply to:	Musicals - BroadwayMagic 09:06 am EDT 08/08/14

MUTINY! David Essex, Che in the original London production of EVITA with Elaine Paige in 1978, starred and wrote the music for this musical of MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY. Critics could only praise the magnificent sets which featured a four and a half ton, 30-foot sailing ship that "spins, rises, tilts, turns, floats and sways all the while revolving to reveal below-deck cabins, high masts, vast areas of deck space and rigging. Seldom has London had a stage set that was so consistently intriguing and exciting to watch. And it is a pity that the rest of the show should prove something of an anti-climax." The problem with any version of MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY is the vast sprawl of the storyline. We are not here dealing with one simple voyage or one single act of rebellion: the tale spreads across decades encompassing England and Tahiti and involves generations of sailors. It was so hard to cram all that plot into a three hour show with 28 songs that there were times when the musical's storyline resembled a skeletal synopsis for a school's documentary. One review grumbled, "A good deal of Essex's songs sound remarkably alike. The songs are of the kind that might make you wish they'd get on with the story, except the story is so glum you wish they'd bring on the songs, except the songs...." Another critic said, "The set had us gasping and so did the songs but for different reasons." Despite the almost unanimously bad notices, MUTINY! was able to run from July 1985 to September 1986. Does anyone remember MUTINY! at the Piccadilly Theatre?

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